wwearchivefandomcom-20200215-history
WWE European Championship
The WWE European Championship was a secondary championship contested in WWE. It was established under the then-World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in early 1997 as a tertiary championship. Throughout its existence, it was of similar importance to the Intercontinental Championship, with multiple superstars holding both titles simultaneously (being referred to as "Eurocontinental Champions") or within short spans of each other. Established in 1997 as the WWF European Championship, it was defended as another secondary title (or a tertiary championship) in the company. The title was retired briefly in April 1999 due to then-champion Shane McMahon's desire to retire as an "undefeated champion". It was defended until 2002, when it was unified with the WWE Intercontinental Championship and later decommissioned. A coveted singles title, it was held by top WWE superstars such as Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Owen Hart and Eddie Guerrero prior to its retirement. 'History' 'Origin and early retirement' The WWF European Championship emerged in 1997 when The British Bulldog became the first champion after winning a tournament that was held over several shows in Germany, culminating in a finals victory over Owen Hart. The title was retired briefly in April 1999 due to then-champion Shane McMahon's desire to retire as an "undefeated champion". The title was reintroduced only 2 months later when Mideon saw it in McMahon's bag and asked if he could have it. McMahon gave it to him, and with that, the championship was active once again. '"Eurocontinental Champion"' The term "Eurocontinental Champion" is a portmanteau of European and Intercontinental, used to describe wrestlers who held both titles simultaneously. Three wrestlers were booked to accomplish this feat. The first was D'Lo Brown, who defeated Mideon for the European title at Fully Loaded in 1999 and two nights later at a Monday Night Raw taping, defeated Jeff Jarrett to win the Intercontinental Championship. A month later at SummerSlam, Jarrett defeated Brown to win both titles, thus becoming the second Eurocontinental Champion. On the February 10, 2000 edition of SmackDown! Kurt Angle defeated Val Venis to win the European Championship. At No Way Out later that month, Angle defeated Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Championship and became the third man to hold both the European and Intercontinental Championships simultaneously. He then was given credit (kayfabe) for coining the term "Eurocontinental Champion", as he was the first to actually use the term to describe his multiple championships. Angle held the titles until WrestleMania 2000, when he faced Jericho and Chris Benoit in a two-fall triple threat match for his belts. In a rarity, Angle lost both of his championships without being pinned or forced to submit; Benoit defeated Jericho in the first fall for the Intercontinental Championship and Jericho returned the favor in the second fall to take the European Championship. Rob Van Dam could arguably be considered the fourth and final Eurocontinental Champion, as he was the Intercontinental Champion and won the European Championship in a unification match; the latter of which became retired. 'Deactivation' The WWE European Championship, as it was next known, was retired in a ladder match on July 22, 2002 when Jeff Hardy's European Championship was on the line, along with Rob Van Dam defending his Intercontinental Championship. Van Dam won that match, and in doing so, he merged the two titles together, and continued to hold the Intercontinental Title. 'Trivia Notes' It was competed for in the main event of the WWF One Night Only pay-per-view in 1997. Despite its name, only two holders were actually from Europe: The British Bulldog and William Regal. With Shawn Michaels winning the belt, it made him the first Grand Slam Champion in WWE history. Michaels is also the only wrestler to have held both the WWF and the European titles at the same time. Category:Inactive Championships